This Is Our Last Dance
by EverSparrow
Summary: Draco Malfoy finally convinces Hermione to have some fun on the last week of eighth-year, and the two find that maybe they don't despise each other as much as they thought.


**A/N: This story is for QLFC Round 9, and my prompt was Under Pressure by Queen. The lyrics I used were "This is our last dance" and "Can't we give ourselves one more chance?" I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Word Count: 1899**

Hermione laid her head against the desk, the once comforting silence of the library now almost suffocating. She'd been here since five in the morning. _Five in the morning_, for Merlin's sake. And now, look at her. She should be at dinner, like the rest of the kids that had filed out of the library, but instead, she was here, poring over _Advanced Transfiguration _for the sixth time that day.

"Shouldn't you be at dinner?"

The voice caused Hermione to jump, and she quickly began tucking away her books in her satchel, knocking over her quill in the process.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Madam Pince, I just thought-"

"Madam Pince, hm? I'd say I'm wounded, but I've always admired the way that woman could shut up you and your little friends."

Hermione's head jerked up, her hands frozen midway to her bag. The boy in front of her was certainly not Madam Pince. He was tall, blond, and had a cold smirk on his face that she had seen so many times before.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione's features folded into a frown, and she stood up so abruptly that she nearly knocked her chair over.

"Easy there, Granger." Draco primly pulled a chair out and sat down across from her, propping his feet up on the table in front of him. "I just thought that the Head Boy and the Head Girl should have a little chat. We just don't spend enough time together as it is."

"Well, what is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" Hermione slung her bag over her shoulder and shifted between her feet, obviously wanting to leave.

"Oh, don't be so bitter, Granger. You've spent this whole year avoiding me. All of it." He leaned back in his chair and swiped a hand through his blonde hair in a way that he obviously thought was charming. "And I thought that with Potter and Weasel out of the way, you might finally consider forgiving me."

Hermione stared at him in shock, taken-aback. Forgive him? A whole year had gone past and he finally wanted to talk about forgiveness? No, this year was hers. It had always been hers. She had been disappointed when Ron and Harry had decided that they wouldn't accompany her for their eighth year, but she had picked herself up again and got to work. She was going to do great things in the Wizarding World, and she knew it. She didn't have time for Draco Malfoy, not with the pressure she was under.

"Forgive you? For six years of harassment? For being a Death Eater? Oh, sure, Malfoy, why don't I just roll out the red carpet and give you a hug while I'm at it?" Hermione was livid, a few strands of her hair slipping from her ponytail.

"That wouldn't be unwelcome," Draco said with a grin, folding his hands behind his head. "But I'm serious, _Hermione_. I'm a changed man."

"Are you, now?" Hermione scoffed, throwing up a hand. Then she froze. There was something wrong in that sentence, something she had never heard before- "What did you call me?"

"Her-mi-o-ne. Hermione. _Hermione._ Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" A pleased smile spread across Draco's face, and Hermione rolled her eyes indignantly. She didn't care that he'd just called her by her first name. And she _definitely _didn't care about how nice it sounded when he said it.

"Oh, stop it. I don't have time for this." She bent down to pick up her quill, slipping it into her satchel. "I have to study. Our N. E. W. T. s are tomorrow, Malfoy! And if I ever want to achieve my goals, I'm going to have to be perfect! This is our last chance. Don't you get it? Don't you feel this pressure?"

"Oh, Hermione." Draco shook his head at her, a sad look on his face. "It's the last week you're ever going to spend at this school. Live a little! Put down the quill and get your nose out of that stupid book."

She opened her mouth in shock, eyes widening. _Stupid _book? She had had quite enough of this arrogant boy.

"Don't look at me like that. You know I'm right." That stupid smirk still played on his lips, and she glared at him. But it was true. He _was _right. In just a few days, she'd never see this place again, not as a student. It'd been her home through thick and thin, and she didn't know how she'd be able to survive without it. Suddenly, her schoolwork seemed a lot less important.

"Besides, you're going to get a perfect score anyway." Draco shrugged, fingering the collar of his robes.

Hermione's head snapped up at the words, a smile finding its way onto her face. He had never said anything so nice before, and it had warmed her heart more than she had expected it to.

"How very kind of you, _Draco_," she said, his name sounding foreign in her mouth. Draco's mouth quirked up at the words, and he grinned at her.

"Does that mean you'll put down all that boring schoolwork?" He looked so happy, so hopeful, that it made Hermione lower her head to hide her smile.

"Well, I'm not sure that-"

"Come _on_, Hermione! This is our last dance! Screw all that pressure and have some fun." Draco stood up, kicking his chair back and extending a hand. Hermione's brain was split in two, one half begging her to stay and study and the other urging her to go on what was promised to be an interesting adventure.

"Fine," she said finally, admitting defeat, and warily, she took his hand.

* * *

"What are we doing outside? It's the middle of the night, Draco!" Hermione wrapped her free arm around her shivering body, the other one being pulled across the grounds by one Draco Malfoy.

She continued to pummel him with questions, but the boy refused to say a word until they were down by the shores of the lake, so far down the pebble-dotted sand that the gentle waves were inches away from their toes.

"Have you ever been swimming in the Great Lake, Hermione?" Draco turned to face her with an innocent smile, his eyes wide and illuminated by the moon that hung above them.

"Of course not!" She swung to face him, her face a perfect picture of shock. "Why would I? It's filled with merpeople and giant squids and Grindylows-"

"Actually, there's only one giant squid and his name is Clyde. But he doesn't like it when people call him 'giant', Hermione. He has self-esteem issues." Draco's tone was haughty and matter-of-fact as if this was a simple fact that everyone should know.

"Really?" she asked curiously, her wide-eyed amazement turning into a frown when Draco smirked.

"Of course not. A know-it-all like you should have known that that was a joke." He shook a finger at her, and she frowned at him. "But to put your worries aside, there's no reason to fear. None of those creatures come up to the surface. Very often."

"You interrupted me for this? What on Earth possessed you to think that this was a good idea?" Hermione put her hands on her hips, shaking her head at the dark water in front of her.

"Because it seems fun, I've never done it, and I want to go out with a bang." Draco's expression remained flat, and Hermione laughed at the insanity of it all. But some part of her, the part that wanted to explore and have fun and put all this studying aside, ached to step into the water. To jump into it with abandon.

"Are you sure?" She stepped forward, putting her toes into the cool water. Surprisingly, it was warmer than she had expected, and a shiver of excitement passed through her as a wave splashed her ankles.

"Only if you are." Draco's voice was smooth and calm, and slowly, cautiously, he slipped his hand into Hermione's. And for once in her life, Hermione wanted Draco Malfoy at her side.

Together, they bent down, hands clutched like a lifeline.

"1… 2… 3!"

At Hermione's call, the two of them jumped with every bit of adrenaline and stress and pressure they had building up inside of them and catapulted into the water.

Hermione plunged into the lake like a bullet, letting the cool water wash over her. Slowly, she brought her head above the water, taking in a deep breath of the sweet air that always surrounded the Hogwarts grounds. All around her, little ripples cascaded across the lake's surface, crystal clear and cold. Her hair, tangled and wet, floated around her submerged body like a halo. She felt ecstatic, beautiful, like all the pressure and stress had washed off in the lake.

A loud crow echoed from across from her, and she turned to see Draco bursting from the surface, his blond hair slicked back against his neck.

"This was a _great _idea! I am brilliant. Amazing. The smartest. Maybe even smarter than you." Draco gave her the brightest grin she'd ever seen him produce, and she smiled back at him. This was exactly what she had needed.

"Thank you," she said suddenly, and Draco swam closer to her, both of them treading water. "I don't know why you did this, but thank you. I- I needed this."

Hermione's heart beat faster in her chest. Why did she feel so- so comfortable around him? She had always hated him, despised him, and now she was swimming with him, fully clothed and in the Great Lake? But Hermione couldn't stop the same ache in her chest from wanting to be closer to him, to forgive him for everything he'd done.

"It is my pleasure, _Hermione_." Draco's face was serious now, his voice even. "But really, Hermione, I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I want it, and I have always wanted it. I am- a horrible person, really, as much as it pains me to admit it. I'm pompous, arrogant, and I don't deserve anyone in my life, least of all you, but-"

"Draco." Hermione gently put a finger to his lips, silencing his tirade. "You're right. You don't deserve it, but I'm going to give it to you all the same. I believe you. You aren't the same Draco Malfoy that I've always known, and I'm proud of who you've become."

The words were so easy, and Hermione found herself certain that she believed them. This person, this version of Draco, was someone who she knew she could like, who she would want to be around. He was funny and kind and arrogant, but mostly, he was good. He was a good man, whether he knew it or not.

"Are you sure?" Draco looked up at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and suddenly, Hermione saw all the layers of that scared little boy that had been hiding behind his self-centered facade for all those seven years.

"Only if you are." She smiled softly and swam closer to him, close enough so that their noses were inches from touching. "Can't we give ourselves one more chance?"

Draco grinned, his insecurity falling away, and, treading water and soaked from head to toe, he pressed his lips to Hermione's.

"Yes. Yes, we can."


End file.
